Another World
by Charne0411
Summary: SG1 travels to another world. What else is new? Told from perspective of the aliens, R & R ;;
1. Chapter 1

"Ias, you're late."

"I couldn't find any thermals. I was patrolling Dracco sector when the summons went out."

Ashel looked down on the girl, milky blue eyes unreadable as he calculated the validity of her excuse. She didn't squirm or flinch, knowing any such movement would immediately condemn her as a liar. Sage eyes remained focused on his chest, wings still against her back, hands firmly at her sides. He finally nodded and led her inside to where the others had already gathered, standing in order of rank. Ias took up position in the empty space in the back right of the simple formation, wings folded neatly and firmly across her back as she remained deathly silent. It was only then that the mignot, Vo, stepped forward to address them.

"Sometime early this morning, the Stargate was activated. Preliminary defenses show a machine of some kind, most likely a surveillance device. Since Chander City is the closest and largest settlement to the Forbidden Sector, the responsibility of finding out who sent it, what they want, and if they are hostile falls directly on us." He began as he paced before the dozen or so winged guardians. "It is because of this responsibility that Chander City is allotted the best of all Kayans. You know your task, I expect a preliminary report by tomorrow morning the latest."

He nodded and they all lifted a right wing in uniform solute as he turned and left, Ashel immediately taking the man's place in the front.

"This is strictly information gathering, Ias, you are the fastest of wing and best with languages. Learn what you can. Toden, Jor, you will accompany her to make sure she doesn't get into any, trouble." He paused and cast a meaningful look the girl's way before continuing. "As for the rest of you, fly to your designated cities and relay the news."

They saluted him as well before scattering to their assignments. Ashel caught Ias just as she was preparing for take off, sending Toden and Jor ahead.

"You'll catch them easily even if they fly at best speed." He said pointedly at the look in her eyes, holding up a decorated armlet. "Why do you refuse to ware it?"

"It sets me apart for the rest of the Kayas, I don't want it."

"Like it or not, you will take over as head of this sector when I am gone. It is an honor to be chosen so young Ias."

"And an unwieldy burden." She retorted, but held still as he placed it on her arm, the material melting away and the markings becoming as a tattoo on her well bronzed shoulder. "I'm no leader Ashel, you know this."

"I also know you wont allow yourself to be a leader. Now go, we will talk later."

She frowned but nodded, turning and diving off the end of the platform which overhung the top of the mignot's palace home, frosted feathers reaching greedily for air. It took her only ten minutes to cover what Toden and Jor had taken half an hour to fly, slowing her pace long enough to tell them she would signal them only if there was trouble before setting off again.

Her leisurely pace was twice what they could travel at comfortably. As she cleared the last of the smaller settlements on the very boarders of the Forbidden Sector she began to climb, hopping from thermal to thermal as she drifted like some gigantic bird across the endless wilder land.

The Forbidden Sector had remained untouched all the way to what was left of the mighty sea that had once claimed most of the planet, miles upon miles of forest and swamp and bog. In the middle lay the Stargate to which Ias flew in a meandering way, seeking out any sign of "interlopers". She found them not, but she did spy the contraption Vo had spoken of.

Dappled wings cup as she stalled, focusing her gaze intently upon the immediate area before descending carefully, landing lightly beside the metal machine and slipping a deft hand into the pouch about her waist. She drew out a single pair of gray gloves which slipped on easily, melting into her skin and leaving barely noticeable markings on each of her knuckles as she stepped cautiously forward.

There were no markings on it that she could make out, nor did it seem active, wings folded lightly across her back as she kneeled to peer more closely at it. Fingers tentatively drifted forward to touch one of the sleek sides, but a sudden rumble made her jump, the symbols on her knuckles glowing as she spun to face the Stargate. The inner track was spinning, the nubs on the outer track lighting up one by one.

Someone was coming through. Panicked, pale eyes flashed as she sought cover- and peered through the still empty ring. Without another moments hesitation she dove through the middle moments before it engaged, spinning to face a swirling pool of light. She had never actually seen it working, mesmerized by the shimmering blue. Curios fingertips drifted barely inches from the surface, the symbols on her knuckles glowing and sending a "buzz" across her nerves.

A warning chirp sent her flat against the forest floor, wings flat across the ground and not a moment to soon as the gate disengaged. The only thing hiding her from view was the bottom of the Stargate itself. She stiffened as voices sounded clearly not feet from where she lay. None would think to look back at the gate, not if she remained silent. Jor and Toden would make sure to keep their interest forward.

She gently touched her hand to the surface of the ring and flinched away. It was superheated, or at least it had to be for her to feel it. Hands firmly on the ground she pressed her torso upwards, head inching quietly upwards until her eyes cleared the ring and she spotted the travelers. There were only four, all of them gathered around the machine. Three were male, the last a female. Of the three males, one was of dark complection, a golden emblem on his forehead that set the girl ill at ease.

They appeared much like an average Amunet, though not quite as long of limb or wide of eye. Their dress was that of camouflage, had they been traveling through thick cover in the forest she most likely would have missed them in her first fly over, but she memorized the patterns and colors in one glance. They wouldn't be able to escape her watchful eyes so easily. They were also armed, but not heavily so, showing caution, but not hostility in their intent. It was not wise to enter strange lands unguarded. Ashel would approve.

The female had begun to prod at the machine, squatted much in the same fashion that Ias had been not seconds before which made her smirk slightly, eyes narrowed as they tried to see what they were looking at. The dark skinned male shifted and she started to find they were staring at her. A screen had appeared out of some hidden compartment and on it played a moving image of her. Her heart nearly stopped when her mirror image jumped up, looking around frantically before diving in the direction of the gate- and taking with it the eyes of all who were watching.

Ias had already dropped back to her stomach but she was trapped. Footsteps, a single pair, were inching towards the ring. A voice was calling out something that could have passed as a greeting in its tone, Ias chirping her question. Jor whistled from somewhere overhead. There was a single male approaching, his manner was as inviting as his tone. She could risk it.

Swallowing, she slowly stood, carefully keeping the smoothly curved side of the ring between her and the four to obstruct them should they try to harm her. Faded green eyes met the crystal blue of the stranger unflinchingly before traveling slowly to his still moving lips, focus as keen on the movement as her ears were to the sound, brain working as quickly as she could push it. And then it all clicked.

"..understand me?"

"Yes."

They both blinked in surprise, the male looking back to the other three before smiling tentatively.

"You can understand me?"

Ias paused and then nodded slowly, the words slow to translate to and from Kayan in her mind.

"Yes, I can. It will take time until I'm good. Talk slowly, please?"

The male's smile widened as he motioned the girl forward, Ias reluctant stepping from behind the ring's protection, fingers walking in the air as she gingerly stepped over the polished bottom, wings flaring slightly before settling once more along her back, though the muscles remained taunt and ready for take off should she feel the need. She hesitated when she realized they were all staring at her, eyes darting once to the sky before looking to each stranger in turn. It was as if they had never seen a Kayan before...

"No wings? Never?"

Her question snapped them out of their trance, the first male shaking his head.

"Um, no. We've never met a race with wings before." He said, Ias's brow wrinkling slightly though she didn't respond. "What's your name?"

"Ias." She smiled, right wing cocking in something akin to a solute but not exactly.

"Well, a pleasure to meet you Ias. My name is Daniel Jackson, that's Colonel Jack O'Neill, that's Major Samantha Carter, and that's Teal'c." The male said, gesturing to each in turn.

They had ranks. They were military also. Ias whistled loudly before singing a short message to which Jor clicked an affirmative. He would return to Chander and report to Ashel and Vo, leaving Toden to provide protection if I needed it. The others shifted uneasily, eyes to the sky but if they were truly like Amunets they could not see the two Kayans who circled over head though Ias could make out their silhouettes vaguely.

"Hey, Ias, was it?"

The girl snapped to attention at the one called Colonel Jack O'Neill, head cocked aside in what seemed to be an unsettlingly birdlike fashion for him because he hesitated to address her again.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Others. Enough light to make it to seeing ledge and stay the night. They will come back in morning with further instructions." She answered simply, smiling briefly before taking a step forward. "You will come?"

Jack looked to the rest of the troop before shrugging. "Lead on."


	2. Chapter 2

"Now this is a view."

Ias looked over her shoulder with a grin as she halted on very edge of the rocky outcropping that was the Seeing Ledge. It was the only rise in all of the Forbidden Sector's otherwise flat lands, allowing you to see all the way to the sea in the east and then west towards the villages, most of which were hidden behind the Ledge's crest. The others had gathered beside her, looking down and about them with something close to awed dismay.

"So...where is here?" Jack asked, gesturing to the forbidden sector in general.

"This is the Forbidden Sector, it stretches to the sea and ends by the villages." She explained, pointing out each in turn. "All this is called Amunet."

"All...this?"

"The Planet." Daniel explained, looking to Ias who smiled brightly in affirmation before turning and beginning to set up camp.

The others followed suit somewhat naturally and soon they were all settled around a roaring fire, Ias brewing some kind of tea that smelled of honey and mint. Daniel frowned at his rations which were suddenly very inadequate, blue eyes darting to the rest of his team. By their expressions, they were all thinking much the same thing, but if Ias noticed she said nothing.

Jack grunted as he turned his attention from his particularly unappetizing meal, Ias not looking up from stirring her concoction but her left wing shifted and her head tilted ever so slightly, silent signals that she knew he was about to ask her something and that she was paying attention. He cleared his throat, noting how much grayer the dapples on her wings appeared in the firelight before shaking his head and remembering his question.

"So Ias, what's with the name?"

Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c all stiffened as the girl jerked, fire catching the hard glint in her eyes as she bristled.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The Forbidden Sector?" He clarified quickly as he realized his blunder, shrugging somewhat sheepishly as Sam and Daniel grimaced.

Ias exhaled loudly as she calmed, but her frosted feathers remained ruffled, indicating just how deep the offense had been.

"The Forbidden Sector has not been touched in any way since the ocean receded, none are allowed to live in or develop any part of it. It is our defense, for in the midst of it all is the Stargate. It is a three to four day journey simply to its edge if you know where you're going through thicket, bog, and wood." She answered, eyes drifting from Jack back to her tea.

"Oceans receded?" Daniel queried as she stirred her brew, sniffing at it before deciding it was coming along fine and turning her gaze to the anthropologist.

"The ancient stories say that once, all the world was water and the land was naught but scattered islands. So it was that Kakaets were birthed with wings, to fly from island to island without fear of some sea predator making a quick meal of them. As the eons passed, the waters dried and the land extended and the Kakaets began to lose their wings, becoming Amunets while those who retained wings became the guardians, the Kayans."

"Wait...so there are two dominant species?" Daniel asked incredulously and Ias nodded, reaching to lift her mug off the fire.

"Hey-" Jack began to warn but she didn't even flinch as she took the mug from the fire, blowing softly over the top.

Daniel blinked as he peered at her knuckles, the symbols glowing palely on her bronze skin as she breathed in the wholesome vapors, taking an appreciative sip and sighing. Jack couldn't help the smile that quirked the corner of his mouth. She reminded him of a certain doctor with a fresh cup of coffee...

"The Amunets are much like you; wingless, lesser senses of sigh, smell and hearing, but keener senses of touch and perhaps even taste though taste is such a suggestive thing." She said as she resettled, sitting cross-legged beside the fire and wings carefully folded across her back.

"Just out of curiosity Ias, can I ask what it was you were doing in the Forbidden Sector?" Sam asked, Jack looking intently to the girl's expression which remained the same; innocent.

"As I said, it is the Kayans who guard. So I am here." She shrugged, response evasive and slightly incredulous, as if offended by the idea that she would be doing anything else.

Jack sat in silence for the rest of the night, simply watching the winged girl interact with the rest of his team. She was a very good actor, brilliant at answering a question without actually answering the question though it was clear she was genuinely curious about them. Just as they were genuinely curious about her and her people, but they were all guarded about their answers.

She was military, there was no doubt in his mind, but she continued to pass it off as being a "guardian", making it sound more like a big brother looking after their younger siblings rather than an organized operation. He wanted to trust her, she oozed "trustworthiness" and it irked him. Severely.

It was well into the night when they turned in, Jack opting to take the first watch.

"You didn't like my show."

He looked up as Ias took a seat beside him, cocking an eyebrow. She cocked her head, peering at him with the corners of almost emerald eyes, mousey brown braids falling lightly across her face in a truly girlish fashion. It disarmed him against his will.

"So you're military?"

"Yes. All Kayans are. It is the right of the wing'ed." She nodded in affirmation, leaning back to look at the sky. "And what of your people? Were you born into service as well or did you have a choice?"

"It was my choice." Jack replied eyeing the girl who nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "What is your mission?"

"Scout. Recon only. Fastes flyer and best with words, found your machine and had to figure out what it did, if anything at all, who sent it, and what they wanted." She replied. "Assignments changed now, that's for sure, but I don't know what too yet so I'm sticking with the plan until Jor comes back with my new orders."

"Recon huh?" Jack said more to himself than to the girl. "So, what have you learned?"

"That you are intelligent and have no hostile intent. Your technology is also well advanced, making you a good candidate for a trade alliance of some kind at the least," she replied with a yawn. "If anything, I will be called back to give a full report. It'll be good to feel air beneath me again."

"When do you learn to fly?"

"The ability is pretty innate, a falling child will instinctively turn themselves upright and either beat their wings to break momentum or simply glide to the floor. Not that injuries are always avoided, but the fundamentals are there always. It is these fundamentals that are refined with training, the first thing you are taught is to trust the air and how to use it." She replied. "Real training doesn't begin until after you've shed your fledgling feathers around fifteen. Then you are required to perform the Kadrin."

"Kadrin?"

"Flight test." She translated loosely, a smile of blissful reminiscence curling the corners of her lips. "One night you are simply blindfolded and carried here where your wrists are then bound and you are thrown off the ledge. You must find your way back to the aviary before you can remove your blindfold or your ties. I made it on my first attempt, my parents were proud."

Jack tried very hard not to appear appalled but failed miserably because Ias patted his leg with a rye smile.

"It sounds worse than it is, we each have an elder assigned to trail us and make sure we are safe the entire time." She soothed. "I am sure you went through some sort of survival training as well."

"Well yea-

"Tell me about it."

And he did, Ias listening attentively until he drifted silently to sleep. She smiled as the man curled almost instinctually at her side, stroking the soft silver that was his hair almost affectionately. He reminded her so much of Ashel it was uncanny.

"Maybe all leaders are like this. Perhaps it's a requirement or something." She said quietly to the sky with a slight grin. "Sleep well Jack O'Neill, I will watch the night."

And she did, humming a few bars of her favorite lullaby whenever one of them grew restless. So it was that Jack awoke to the sound of a murmured toon and a gentle touch, blinking as he tried to figure out where he was. The sun had yet to rise, everything a monotone gray in the pre-dawn light. The fire had died to embers but he could make out Teal'c, Daniel, and Sam's still sleeping forms from where he had lain his head...on Ias' thigh.

Her fingers traced lazy circles in his hair and behind his ear, making him both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time, breaths coming quickly in his uncertainty. Her left wing cradled his back protectively, like a guardian angel. It took him a minute to realize she had stopped singing, tilting his head to look up at her. She returned his gaze with a rye sort of smile, hand slipping from his hair to rest in her lap.

"Good morning. Sleep well?"

He sat up, eyeing the girl who simply stared back, pale eyes bright with mischief.

"Yea, like a rock." He muttered, averting his gaze.

He was thoroughly embarrassed, he had to be at least twice her age for one and he was off world, on a mission for crying out loud.

"Everyone deserves a good nights sleep."

Jack looked up as the girl stood, stretching as she stepped across the fire to the ledge. She peered back at him over her shoulder with an 'are you coming or what?' air, Jack climbing slowly to his feet before joining her with a grunt. He swallowed, kicking at a rock before beginning to speak but she held up her hand, pointing to the east. The sun crested the horizon, ribbons of pink and orange unfurling across a pale sky, golden orange burning across the sea.

It was breathtaking. Ias grinned as she watched his expression, wings arching behind her in her own delight. Lips parted as she chirped the waking song, putting Jack further at ease with her and the idea of their "closeness" the night before and nursing the beginnings of a mutual trust. She turned once she finished and flapped her wings once, hard, sending a gust of air and dirt across the still dozing members of SG1, as well as emitting a sound like a miniature thunderclap.

The trio started awake, Teal'c eyeing Ias knowingly while Sam and Daniel blinked in confusion.

"Morning guys. Sleep well?" Jack asked cheerfully, moving forward to rouse and round up his troops while Ias turned back to the sunrise.

It was a beautiful morning to fly, the sky was cloudless and as deep a blue as the ocean below, air still and warm. She wanted nothing more than to take off, but Vo and Ashel would have her head. She reluctantly peeled her eyes from the sky, frowning as she looked to the length of swampland, bog, and forest that stretched from the foot of the seeing ledge for miles. Crossing would be no fun on foot...maybe she could persuade Vo to allow her to borrow transport bubbles.

As she turned to look back at the aliens, movement caught the corner of her eyes and she looked back to the sky, trained eyes easily spotting not only Jor and Toden, but Resh and Sev all making their way to the ledge. She frowned, worry crossing her brow as she focused her gaze on Jor. In his hands she could just make out the outline of a semitransparent disk against the brown of his tunic and she smiled. Transport bubbles! Ias gave a half cheer before turning to face the four GI's who were watching her curiously.

"You have been approved, we will take you to Chander City and from there you will proceed to the capital, Etopolis." She stated, the others looking at her uneasily.

"Ias..who's we?"

"Just wait." She assured Jack as she stepped forward three strides, the sound of beating wings becoming audible.

The four started as 4 winged men dropped out of the sky and alighted behind Ias neatly.

"We." The girl grinned, holding out her arms to gesture to the 4 males who each nodded in response.

"Oh." Was all Jack could muster as the girl turned to face her kin.

"And?" She asked Jor in their native tongue, cocking her head.

"We will take them to Vo first before they are sent to the Etopolis. You will be their translator, Ashel and Vo will debrief you upon your arrival." Jor said as they all activated their bubbles, dropping them to the ground where they hovered and expanded ever so slightly. "Are they ready to go?"

Ias turned to face SG1 who were now standing at attention, watching her expectantly.

"Are you ready?"

"Yup."

"Ok. Each of you has been provided with a transport bubble." Ias said, motioning to the disks which continued to hover just above the ground. "All you have to do is sit on them. They will do the rest."

They eyed her suspiciously before tentatively doing as they were told. Once they were all situated comfortably, each Kayan held a hand and transparent field surrounded each occupant, the only sign that it was there being the fact that everything about them was tinted yellow. Ias sighed as she stepped to the ledge, turning to face the capsule enshrouded aliens with a grin.

"If you are afraid of heights I don't suggest you open your eyes but otherwise enjoy the view. Jack, you are with Jor, Daniel, you are with Toden, Sam, you are with Sev, and Teal'c, you are with Resh. They are the strongest of all Kayans in Chander City, they will take care of you." She smiled. "I will meet you in the city."

"Wait, Ias-"

The girl solitude them with a grin before leaping backwards and plummeting into nothingness. The others took off as well, she could see Daniel covering his eyes, Sam and Teal'c looked a little green themselves...and Jack watching her. She smiled at the barely suppressed worry in his eyes, waving before spreading her wings and twisting about in one deft movement, pulling out of her dive and shooting about a foot above the tree tops, beating strongly to gain altitude without loosing too much speed, buzzing Jor who chided her half heartedly.

He knew how good it felt to fly, especially this morning. It was going to be a beautiful day. Ias chirped a playful farewell before taking off at best speed for Chander City.


End file.
